This Is No Reality
by Wolf from the Hidden Flames
Summary: There was only a fractured sanity and a distorted rupture in reality. Natsukicentric, ShizNat.


**Wolf:** So after an extremely long time of not writing anything…I wrote this…

Anyways it's based off of what happens when you're sitting up at night being influenced by episodes 22-25…and Natsuki's wild imagination…more specifically, her dreams.

See if you can guess what the actual reality in this fic is…if you think it has one.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Mai HiME.

**This Is No Reality**

* * *

It was icy cold, so chilling to the bone. The wind was sharp on this particular evening, blowing harshly in the twilight sky. It wailed, like a tortured eagle's cry and there was something almost desperate in its anxious scream. The twilight sky was in several shades of violet and azure, mixing into a dark venomous overcast. Hot white droplets sprayed its clouded abyss and the moon above had never looked so full, never looked so gloomy as if it silently wept. The clouds, a bleak dark gray, were hued from the sky's dark shades and cast an ugly, twisted indigo. They squeezed and twisted toward each other; there was something heavy in the twilight air. 

She could smell it.

The air, taut, squeezed at her sides as she raced up the hill. Her emerald eyes were askance, glancing around the dark cliff in wild fear. Her breathing was harsh and there was pain in her sore limbs. Her dark blue hair, usually silkily soft, was matted with sweat from her run. It clung to her firm back in an uncomfortable grasp, the sweat spreading across her clammy skin. Her calves ached and weakly screamed for her to stop, but the fear and adrenaline pumping her blood kept her racing forward. If she could get to the peak of the cliff in time, if she could reach that sole height in which reality and illusion breached edges at the end of the world, she'd be safe.

If she could.

She was losing strength fast, her throat parched and scratchy and her eyes bleeding with salty tears. Sparing a green-pooled glance up at the sky, the blue-haired maiden shivered at the almost evil shade of indigo night. The sight of it and the heavy stench leaking into the air forced her to run forward. She was almost there, just a little farther. Just a bit more and she would be safe, at the end of the world.

- - -

_A voice was calling her, sweetly in the late of the night, alluring. She lay in bed, writhing against the ghostly hands of a nightmare. Her eyes were shut, not tight but enough to reveal tension that her mind exuded. Her hands, shaking and cold, gripped the white linen sheets of the bed cover. A despairingly weak wail vibrated from her lips and a choking cry escaped her. _

"_Someone help me…"_

_She was answered. _

_Something soft, something gentle and warm, tugged at her night shirt. It drifted and swept across her hair with such a tender caress that the blue-haired maiden shuddered and whimpered, reached her own hand to clasp at that soft arm, that sweet being. A whisper, utterly full of adoration._

"_Natsuki…"_

- - -

Her lungs were tearing apart, so tight in her chest that she almost toppled over running up the path. They were burning, burning more than any scorching fire or searing ice she'd ever touched. Fire and ice was what she was, an odd combination of both. Wild and passionate like fire yet blindingly cold and hard as ice. The two elements mixed, settled in her rattled heart. She was not as strong as the makers of her soul were, and how she wished she was. Maybe then she could face this onslaught of fear.

The sky was darker now, over her head. Her arms flailed weakly against her sides, hit her bruised ribcage. With a gasping breath, she ceased her shaky run. Hands braced her knees as the girl bent over, puffing for hollow breaths. Her emerald green eyes shifted nervously for any soul that dared reach toward her. Slowly, she lifted her gaze from the path and stared up ahead. What she saw made her whimper in agitation.

Completely unlike the sickly hue of the sky behind her, the heavens before her were a luminous orange red. Bright orange red, as if of flames that torched the clouds and tinged them a dazzling but screeching gold. Pale white dashed the surfaces, mixed in with vibrant yellow and bloody red. Quite a sight it was, the complete apparition of fire lighting the sky, yet there was no such source near the heavens.

Fighting back the urge to bellow achingly into the atmosphere, the maiden trembled in pain and abhorrence. Could nothing settle the accelerating dance of her anxiety that compressed her heart in such a tight grasp, near cause of fainting? Swaying, disoriented, a shrieking echo sliced the air, brought her back to reality. She jerked, the fear increasing ten folds at the inhumane cry.

She took a step forward.

- - -

"_Natsuki? Natsuki are you alright? What is it Natsuki? What did you dream of?"_

_A soft voice, softer than the gentle caresses stroking her blue hair. Emerald green eyes opened and stared into the shadows, almost imagined she could see those burgundy eyes. Natsuki licked her dry lips, eyes frantically searching for those autumn-toned pools. She couldn't __**see **__her but she could __**feel **__her. That gentle hand was enough proof of that. _

_Natsuki tried to catch it, wanting desperately to curl her thin fingers around that hand, that only piece of solid comfort she had in this nightmare. Her fingers failed, caught thin air, and her green eyes stared abysmally into the darkness. There was not a trace of burgundy, or a hide nor hair of a Kyoto lady. There wasn't a silhouette of a fine, graceful brunette. Only a mere hand, ghostly, attached to a pale arm and disappearing into the darkness. She swallowed. _

"_Natsuki? What did you dream of?"_

- - -

At last, at last she had made it. Her feet ached and her shoes were ruined, soles burning. Her clothes clung too tightly to her skin from sweat and something reeked into her nostrils. Perhaps it was the fear that so abnormally numbed all her senses or the stench of burning coal and smoke, though there was no fire, in the air. Whatever it was, it hurt her and she murmured discontent as she limped higher and higher.

Her green eyes, unearthly in this bright light, stared in something akin to horror as she climbed to the peak. Placing her feet uncertainly on the ground of the cliff, she cast a wry glance around it. Emerald pools stared into the sky was the fiery tones shifted and darkened into a tone of blood. Blood. Her eyes watered.

And then she saw her.

Standing there, against that fiery bursting light, unmoving as the shades swayed and danced before her. She was rigid, back to her, with her fair oak hair swaying in a silent, strangely calm breeze. Immoveable, untouchable, and unshaken in this tirade of broken reality, where illusion covered every crack of truth and confused every soul that searched for an ounce of truth. In this war of what was real and what was not, she was the only one standing and bracing the storm.

Or so she thought.

- - -

_A whimper, a gasp, and then a pained moan. Her arm outstretched; fingers splayed open for that creamy palm. It was withdrawing, slowly and she did not understand why she couldn't catch it. They were but an inch apart, their fingertips were. She could __**hear **__her breathing, she could __**smell **__her scent, yet there was no __**taste**__ of her in the quiet night wind. In this lonely house, there was only she and her. Yet where was __**her? **_

"_I'm here Natsuki. I'm here for you…"_

_Salvation! Sweet, safe salvation. She cried, let out a choking sob, weak and relieved as that hand came back and stroked her cheek, palm warm. Smiling past her salty tears, the blue-haired maiden gazed at the owner of the hand, shrouded in shadows, with affection. Her lips trembled into a small smile._

"_Shizuru…"_

- - -

Taking a fearful step toward her, the maiden cast the brunette a pained look, one that so weakly asked why. Whatever for she asked such a question was unknown to her, only that she asked it. Lost and confused, she needed a truth, a single truth. And this woman, Kyoto lady, could give it to her. Direly, she called out to her, her question faltering in her throat and becoming the scream of a tortured eagle, much like the sick indigo sky she'd tried to run from. She halted, eyes rounded and terrified. It worked though, her anguished wail worked. The Kyoto lady turned.

And she was faced with scarlet eyes, as if of molten blood.

The maiden took a step back, gulped. Her eyes, beginning to burn again with salty tears, wavered at the intense look the Kyoto lady laid down upon her. The brunette smiled slightly, tilted her head as if to question why she was here. Her gaze was soft, almost motherly. Yet there was none of the affection and tender evasiveness that there had once been. This was only an empty shell of her confidant, burned away like the sky that was erupting in phantom fire. Her eyes had lost their trace of life, their true spark of love she'd seen many a time. There was only a haunting image of what she once was, a graceful martyr.

She was fading.

- - -

"_Will you tell me now? What you dreamed of my love?"_

"_Shizuru…"_

_A relaxed breath, a quick nuzzle to the wrist she'd captured between her fingers. A kiss to that vein which pulsed of blood just underneath the skin. A gasp, a questioning murmur. She didn't reply, toyed with the soft hand for a moment. She stalled for she did not want to answer the question, gravely wanted to avoid it so she could continue to weave her illusion. But that angelically disguised Devil's voice stopped her._

"_Natsuki you have to tell me some time…What did you dream of, my love?"_

_A fearful hitch of breath, a tense lining of muscles. Emerald eyes implored the illusion of burgundy ones not to ask again, yet the eyes that weren't there did so. A forlornly reply, full of bitterness and crushed dreams, thick of lost love._

"_I dreamed of you…"_

- - -

"Hello Natsuki…"

And just like that, the silence was broken, the fear shattering. Her emerald eyes froze, the pupils dilated and her breathing stopped. The pain and fear, the utter exhaustion, faded away into nothingness. The tears stopped their liquid cascade. The dance of fire in the sky slowed and melted away, giving way to a breathtaking ocean of dark blue. The sky, the real sky, cast a dark blanket around them and droplets of stars and an orb of moon completed the picture. Standing here, on this cliff, she was slowly aware that the fear and pain, the longing, originated from one source. Her heart beat faintly and her green eyes centered on the Kyoto lady. She was graced with a sweet smile.

"Shizu…ru…"

Shizuru beamed, her burgundy eyes brightened and glowed with pure love that Natsuki's doubts and insecurities melted away. She breathed softly, breath fogging into silver mist in the dark night. Completely rejuvenated, she pushed forward. They were only a mere few yards away yet it felt like an eternity before she fell into those silky, cream-skinned arms. A soft laugh, a gentle squeeze, and the world didn't feel cold or lonely anymore.

Natsuki buried herself in those arms, those safe arms and laughed with the soundless mirth of her confidant. Her hands roamed, clasped at soft clothing and delved into precious pale locks. She nuzzled the creamy slender neck, inhaled that rich scent that all but poured out of Kyoto lady. Arms as strong as passion but as gentle as love gripped her in an embrace bordering between euphoria and existence, made her feel safe and **alive**.

"Natsuki…I've been waiting for you…"

- - -

"_Mou? Natsuki's been dreaming about me? How flattering!" _

_A low chuckle, a rumble through the air and Natsuki lifted her face from whence she'd buried her face in the covers of her futon. She blinked, frowned in concern and disbelief. Why was Shizuru taking this so lightly? Couldn't she see it had not been a good dream? She croaked; stumbled over the words she wanted to say, but that hand, that __**gentle **__hand stopped her. It weaved through her dark hair and across her nape, dipped between where shoulder and neck met and stroked her arm reassuringly. Her green eyes meekly stared into the shadows and a murmur echoed to her. She sighed, smiled and laid her head back against the pillow. Shizuru understood, she always did. Nuzzling into the caressing hand, Natsuki sighed and looked at the darkness._

"_Feeling better?"_

"_Yes…"_

"_Now, what was this dream of?"_

"_Ne…"_

_She turned away, stared at the thin shoji doors of the house. Her breathing deepened and her green eyes dulled. How could she say what her dream was about? Turning to the shadows again, she felt a sudden immense euphoria clouding her mind. Dazed, her hand sought for Shizuru's and clasped it. Rising from the sheets, Natsuki tilted her head in bewilderment and spoke suddenly._

"_Shizuru…why aren't you here? What dream is this?"_

- - -

"Waiting? Why?"

She questioned, pulling back from the embrace and eying Shizuru. The brunette smiled and leaned down to plant a kiss on her hair. Natsuki smiled and sighed happily. Whatever the reason was, surely it couldn't be bad. The night was too calm and too gentle, just like Shizuru, to be waiting for something tragic to occur. Leaning up to return the kiss, she planted one upon Shizuru's cheek. Shizuru smiled, her eyes watering suspiciously as she pulled Natsuki into her arms.

"Why else my love? Waiting for you to come to me. It's time…"

Natsuki blinked, confused. Shizuru moved away from her love's arms and faced the horizon, pale locks casting a shadow over her eyes. The blue-haired maiden's icy eyes gazed on in puzzlement as the Kyoto lady smirked, shoulders shaking with a low chuckle that thrummed deep within her chest. The skies darkened, the violent sweeping from the night, leaving it a dark midnight azure. The stars seemed to dilate, pulsing with unbearable heat as pale gray clouds began to embrace the darkness. Natsuki stepped back, eyes flicking to the sky and then toward Shizuru. The brunette was gazing off into the ocean, hair blowing softly in a soundless breeze.

"Natsuki…love it's time. Come with me. I'll show you a world you can understand…a world were there's only just the two of this…nothing of the stained, dirty human race…just us…us two…where **we **are the world."

Shizuru turned. Her hair flared around her in a wave of pale oak tresses, framing her palid face. Natsuki could only watch in a mixture of nausea, fear, and anxiety as her love's distorted. The gentleness was gone from her face and a hollow look entered her burgundy eyes. They dulled, the color deepening into a shade of scarlet that reminded Natsuki of molten blood. Her lips pulled, tugged upward into a ghostly smile, something akin to the one Natsuki had never wanted to see.

Standing there, rigid in the cold night air, Natsuki didn't have much trouble seeing Shizuru in a violet kimono, the shaft of a bloodied red weapon stilled across her back, and with soulless dark eyes. The dread curled in her stomach and burned her from the inside out, murdered the weak scream issuing from her throat. Stumbling back, she could only gape in terror as Shizuru swayed forward.

The weapon, unseen, rose.

- - -

"_Tell me!"_

_A bang, a sliding thud and she was upon her. Fury boiled in the pit of her abdomen and blinded her through the mind, fogging away any logic. The shadows lengthened on the wood of the shoji house, danced with the darkness and the moonlight as a yelp cut the air. Natsuki was unstoppable. Her icy green eyes were darkened to a shade of almost black verdigris, hands grasping the soft cloth of a kimono. She tried not to shudder at its color; a violet color grasped in her hands. Tugging at the silk, the enraged maiden dragged the brunette into the moonlight. Looming over her, panting and out of breath, Natsuki could now see clearly Shizuru's features. _

_There was relief, utter and clear relief._

"_You're real right? You're here…with me…right?"_

_Burgundy eyes, still reveling in shock, swiveled up to face Natsuki. Tresses the shade of pale oak spilled about the woman's shoulders, which were laid bare from the slipping of her kimono which Natsuki had so hastily yanked. Her legs lay sprawled on the wood of the house, unhidden by her long, violent kimono. Alarm tightened her soft muscles and made them visible through the thin silk cloth. Natsuki's heard sped up._

"_Aren't you real, Shizuru?"_

- - -

It felt like her heart was shattering.

She danced in the night, limbs fluttering through the cold air as fear clogged her mind and her eyes watered. A whistling sound sliced through the night and something dark red flashed in front of her eyes. Craning her neck around, she caught the sight of violet before she lunged, rolling out of the way as the sound of metal clanged against the grounds. Tremors vibrated through the soil and Natsuki gasped, lifting her green irises upward. She stared at a night sky, sprayed with stars and heavenly still. The sound of hasty footfalls made her curl her back and leap, legs first before scrambling onto her limbs to stand.

"Shizuru!"

She dodged again, feeling cold metal graze her left ribcage and a shiver tingled her spine. A mane of cobalt blue concealed vision before her. Then her tresses curled in a sleek arch before gentle falling away and she could see again. Her gasp was barely audible as her eyes rounded. Hollow eyes, dead red eyes peered at her from below a crown of oaken silk. Her heart sped from her chest and obstructed her throat. The fear was almost tangible.

"Natsuki…"

That voice, that once sweet and ginger voice was swallowed by emptiness. It felt like tracing your fingers and eyes against glass, able to feel it was fragile and able to see right through it. Gazing into those dead eyes and flipping back away from the crimson blade of that weapon, a strange feeling began to eat away at Natsuki. It grew from the pit of her stomach and blossomed through her interior by the blood streaming through her veins. Regret, longing and loss rippled through her, painfully so and painfully obvious. The moisture in her icy eyes leaked down her cheeks and silently dripped into the night air before plopping onto the ground.

There was so much pain.

Shizuru vaulted into the sky, higher than Natsuki and for a moment the full moon illuminated her slim form. Hollow scarlet eyes opened wide and a blade the color of blood couldn't have been brighter even if it had been in pure daylight. Her pale arms slipped from her kimono and lifted; the shaft of the weapon snapped. Its blade popped, arching into a hellish curve. Then she descended.

Natsuki was dancing with death.

- - -

"_Natsuki…"_

_That silken voice was rimmed with fear and anxiety and Natsuki could hear, __**feel **__a tremor in that soft voice. Her hand grasped at nothing and delved into shadows. Soft, silky soft was what she felt and she entwined her fingers into that silky soft touch. A shiver laced down her spine and she curled over that soft thing, nuzzling into its silkiness. Her icy green eyes flicked wildly, mixed with fear and possession and her heart fluttered and rammed against her chest. She only needed this one reassurance to assure herself. _

_This had to be __**real**__. She wanted it to be real so badly. _

"_Natsuki, what is wrong? You're so troubled…"_

_She sighed and nuzzled into that soft thing, which she now figured to be hair. She could imagine every fine detail of her, every oak strand and every patch of creamy pale flesh. She could imagine every stretch of violet cloth and the smooth, but sharp curve of a jaw settled to a slender white neck, flowing to firm, soft shoulders and down a long smooth torso. She could imagine slipping her arms about a slender waist and running her hands along the supple cloth and flesh. She could imagine it would be bliss. _

_So what held her back?_

"_Shizuru…Shizuru I'm frightened…where are you? Are you here? Are you still here…with me? Shizuru I…I can't __**see **__you anymore…I feel you…oh how I feel you strongly…but I can't see you…where are you Shizuru? Where are you?"_

- - -

"Stop this Shizuru!"

Her blade halted, her body jerking with the sudden pose before it moved again in a leap backward. Hair falling to mask her face, Natsuki was forbidden to see the expression in her eyes. The Kyoto lady's smile curled, her teeth bared and a soft chuckle vibrated from her. She shifted, oaken tresses swaying with the movement and her body crumbled downward. Natsuki took a step forward, but Shizuru rose once again. Stumbling, she back pedaled and turned her hidden gaze toward the edge of the cliff. Her shoulders shook and the phantom weapon clamored to the ground.

"Ara Natsuki...you want me to stop? But why? Natsuki...Natsuki Natsuki...I only want you to stay with me…there's no need for fear Natsuki…fu fu fu…yes there's no need for fear Natsuki…"

Natsuki gulped and watched as Shizuru weaved back and forth, red eyes glazed over and chin lifted in a way that she was peering at the night sky. Her hair curled around her shoulders and lifted in the chilled breeze, a murmur escaped her lips. Then her chin abruptly dropped and she chuckled again, darkly and without sounding wholly sane. It made Natsuki want to weep. What was wrong with her?

"Shizuru!"

"Hmm?"

Shizuru purred to her, eyelids falling lazily as she cast Natsuki a lazy, torn look. Her steps clumsily stepped forward and she laughed again, a sob bubbling within the bizarre mirth and shredding it completely. Tears swelled in her eyes as her rocking figure tilted back. A glassy look entered her bewildered eyes as she stuttered.

"Natsuki…Natsuki Natsuki I don't understand…don't you want to be with me anymore? Yes you do I can see it in your eyes…so why? WHY?!"

"You've gone mad!"

Something was breaking in her and agony was crumbling away at her beaten soul. Her icy eyes stared at the faltering look on the Kyoto lady's face and watched the madness overwhelm her, a dazed and confused gleam in her hollow eyes. Was this what it felt like to lose your precious thing in front of your eyes? Is that why she felt lost? What was happening?

"Shizuru! Shizuru please come back to me! Where are you? Where are you Shizuru?"

Though no matter how many times she called, no matter how many times she pleaded and beckoned, her most precious person slipped away each time, the distance greater than before. Shizuru's expression was one of utmost pain, filled with the knowledge that her own mind was the cause of her misery and instability, the tears stinging her hollow eyes as her lips trembled. Her legs trembled as if they couldn't support her weight and she lurched closer to the cliff, gazing at Natsuki with glassy hurt eyes. Natsuki tried again, voice tinged with forlorn sorrow.

"Shizuru…where are you?"

"Where am I?"

She was answered with a slow, uncomprehending tone. A fine eyebrow arched and Shizuru shot her a bemused glance, as if she thought Natsuki was silly for asking such a question. She giggled again yet there was no joy in her voice and her eyes were far too empty. Chuckling, the brunette turned to the cliff and watched the starry night with something akin to pity. She mumbled to herself before half-turning to Natsuki.

"Why Natsuki, I am here."

- - -

"_I'm here Natsuki…right here."_

_A hand touched her through the darkness; soft warmth overflowed and soothed the aching feel in her chest. She smiled and her green eyes lit up happily. A please mumble escaped her lips as that hand traversed her fingers and moved up her arm, stroking the tense limb before caressing her jaw. Something soft flitted across her cheek and a tingling sensation issued throughout her body. She sighed quietly and closed her eyes at the silken touch that crossed her neck and dipped to her breast. It curled around the mound and grasped just a bit more to the right, cupping a special spot._

"_I'm right here…"_

_Natsuki whimpered as that hand tightened its hold against the flat of her breastbone, fingers trembling with the beating of her heart just underneath the surface. Shizuru drifted closer and a fluttering, trapped in her chest, resounded through her as a kiss was delicately placed on her cheek. Tender lips crept about her cheeks and whispered in her ear, sweetly._

"_I'm here for you. My Natsuki…always…"_

_There was another tender kiss and a gentle caress on her cheek with those whispers. Then there was silence and a cold feeling swept the atmosphere and her stomach dipped. Her teeth chattered and her eyes watered, soundless tears streaming down her cheeks. She glanced around the room, the empty room and groaned as her head fell slightly, eyes drooping. Fog clouded her mind and her head pounded in agony. Her heart felt heavy and the blood pumping in her veins stung like ice. Wearily, she gazed around the room. It had lost its warmth, its reassurance. She whimpered. _

"_Here…she's here…with me."_

_Her eyelids drooped and her body languidly collapsed unto her futon. Her icy green eyes stared at the shadowed wall of the room for a moment, listening to the pulsing ram of her heart. Her breath came in deep and even gasps and her eyelids fluttered. A single whisper flowed past her pale lips before she succumbed to slumber._

"_I just need to wake up…"_

- - -

"You're not here."

A solemn testimony and a hard glance, the tears wiped from icy eyes and Natsuki squinted at the brunette. Shizuru's brow arched again and an inaudible question glinted in her hollow gaze. Natsuki stepped forward, her confusion melting away. This was not Shizuru. This fractured soul was a piece of her, but it was not **her **Shizuru. This shell was what she had once been.

"You're not here and you're not her."

"But I am Natsuki…"

Shizuru cooed, a malevolent grin marring her face. She twitched, her feet stumbling near the edge. Natsuki moved forward and outstretched her arms, as if to catch her though they were several feet away. Shizuru's eyes glimmered amusedly at this. Natsuki winced, wanted to turn her icy gaze away, but stayed rooted to the spot. The Kyoto lady shook her oak-shaded crown and turned to the horizon again. Natsuki stepped forward, carefully and cautiously. With each shaky step that neared her to the brunette, her heart beat wildly in her chest and the black pupils in her icy eyes dilated. Within seconds, she was standing side by side to the Kyoto lady. Her gazed was directed to the sea, but her heart and ears were trained on Shizuru.

"What has happened Shizuru?"

There were no other words, no harsh accusations nor any desperate pleas. There was only one statement, solemn and strong and forlorn. Shizuru bestowed an expression of utmost disorientation. The woman's cheeks were pale and her scarlet irises were clouded. Then her lips quivered and she rasped in a broken voice.

"I'm lost Natsuki…I can't find my way out…Where am I?"

Natsuki shifted. Icy green eyes peered at Shizuru gently, sadly. Shizuru's face was veiled by her oak tresses, lips quivering and chest heaving softly. She was whimpering. Natsuki stepped forward and embraced her, trying to hush the lost soul. Silken hands clung to her back and the slender figure shook in her arms. The blue maiden's grasp tightened. Her green eyes wistfully stared off to a point in the dark blue horizon, seeing just the first peak of rising dawn. Lost in her own thoughts and the scent of the Kyoto lady, she felt a stirring in her soul and something, a whisper perhaps, echoed in her mind. Words she wasn't quite sure she had remembered made themselves heard.

"You're here Shizuru. Here…with me…always."

She took Shizuru's hand and placed it upon her breast, fingers splayed and shivering with the beat of her heart underneath the surface. Shizuru's scarlet eyes, with feeling returning to them, gazed at Natsuki uncertainly and fearfully, mouth slightly open and a flush staining her pale cheeks. Her eyes watered and Natsuki embraced her once more. Face buried in the oaken tresses, she did not see the look of fractured sanity in Shizuru's eyes nor the sorrowful smile. Clinging to the blue maiden, the Kyoto lady inhaled and smiled through watery eyes.

"I'm here…"

Natsuki beamed into Shizuru's neck and a sigh rocked both their bodies. Stroking her soft backside, the maiden felt Shizuru quiver in her embrace and pulled back. Questioningly, she glanced at her. The brunette's eyes were moist. Natsuki trembled. Her own eyes misted over and she nervously smiled at the woman.

"Yes you're here."

Then Shizuru was gone. A broken smile aimed her way and a few teardrops before the woman evaporated into nothingness. Natsuki stood there, gazing at nowhere and willing something to be real that was not. There was no warmth and there were no more smiles. There was only a fractured sanity and a distorted rupture in reality. Nothing but her and her dreams.

"I just need to wake up…"

Then she melted away into nothingness herself, the tremor in her fingers the only conscious feeling she was aware of before she disappeared. The night went along with her, warping in a twist of dark colors with the single light of dawn before there was nothing. Nothing except for the sequestered wind of a dream.

- - -

"Natsuki, you can wake up now."

* * *

**Wolf: **So that was it…3 weeks and 12 and half a page later…I got this. Be gentle please? This is my first time putting up a ShizNat fic. 


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